The Board has remanded the case for further development due to procedural issues and to consider revised rating criteria.
The deciding factor: The decision was based on service connection by aggravation of a pre-existing condition, but additional evidence is needed to determine if the current disability warrants an initial compensable evaluation or if it should be rated under the revised criteria.
- Claimed conditions
- residuals of injury to the right 4th finger, fracture of the right 5th metacarpal
- How they argued it
- Aggravation of a pre-existing condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- July 7, 2003
- Citation
- 0315037
This is a plain-language summary generated by AI from a public Board of Veterans’ Appeals decision. It can contain errors — always verify against the original. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 0315037.
What this means for you
A remand is not a loss. The Board sent the case back for more development — often a new exam or missing records — before making a final decision. Many remands later end in a grant, and the decision spells out exactly what the Board wanted to see.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral recurrent tinnitus is granted. The Board finds that the evidence is at least in equipoise as to whether the current tinnitus arose in service, and resolves all reasonable doubt in favor of the Veteran.
- Denied
The Veteran's right hand disability, characterized by a strain with mild peripheral neuropathy of the right 5th metacarpal, is not considered to warrant an increased rating beyond the current 10 percent assigned.
- Denied
The Board denied the appellant's claim for a rating in excess of 10 percent for his service-connected residuals of a fracture of the right fifth metacarpal, finding that the evidence did not support a higher evaluation. The appeal was also denied on whether new and material evidence had been received to reopen a claim for degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for a fracture of the right 5th metacarpal, resolving reasonable doubt in favor of the Veteran. Service connection was denied for a fracture of the right 4th metacarpal.
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